everybody wants to rule the world
by thestoryweaver89
Summary: A trained assassin and spy, Izumi is sent to go undercover at Salt High School to protect Kageyama Shigeo from the hands of a terrorist organisation known as Shukusei. Thinking that it would be an easy job, Izumi reluctantly accepts and is thrown into the world of spirits and espers. However, there's more to her new - and old - world than she thinks.
1. Prologue

It was a beautiful night in Paris. The stars were brighter than ever, and the pyramid glowed with a soft, warm light. Despite the flock of tourists gazing in awe at the Louvre palace and the giant, triangular glass structure before it, it couldn't be denied that there was something special in the air. Yes, it was a beautiful night in Paris.

And Izumi absolutely hated it.

The girl gritted her teeth. The idiot was late, and now they were running out of time to escape before the guards noticed that the security cameras were rigged. She adjusted her grip on the rope, willing the grappling hook sunk into the stone to hold on for a bit more.

"Saki!" she hissed, "Where the hell is Kei?! He's supposed to be out of the building by now!"

Silence, and then the transmitter in her ear sparked to life. "Just hold on! Something went wrong with the drop-off – I think Kei went back in."

"Back in?!" Izumi nearly yelped aloud. Swearing, she pulled herself slightly higher, feeling the muscles in her arms and thighs burn. _Hana would be happy at the amount of training I'm getting here._ "I've been hanging nearly twenty feet off the ground for almost forty minutes, and we're ten minutes behind schedule!"

"Okay, okay, he just intercommed me. He's got Takano's location – you can drop now!"

"Fucking finally!" Izumi reached for the camera beside her, plugging out the device she'd inserted and shoving it back into her pocket. Looking around to make sure that none of the people below were looking in her direction, Izumi swung, using the momentum of the rope to launch herself out of the small circle she'd made on the window. The grappling hook behind her detached itself from the wall and snapped back into her waiting hand. Without wasting a breath, Izumi took off at a run, ignoring the aching in her arms and legs.

"You'd better have a good reason for being late, Kei," she hissed. A second later another voice spoke into the earpiece, deeper and – in Izumi's opinion – much more annoying.

"Oh, sorry, did I keep the princess waiting? I guess her royal highness isn't a patient one," Kei drawled. Despite the dripping sarcasm in his voice, Izumi could detect a hint of breathlessness.

The girl rolled her eyes, scaling down the back of the building to a bush where she'd hidden her civilian clothes. "You damn well know I'm not, you idiot. What the hell kept you?"

"I recognised some of his goons," Kei quietened at Izumi's sharp hiss, "Yeah, they were standing around pretending to be civilians."

"Probably there to scout any potential agents," Izumi shimmied into a new pair of jeans and a shirt, crumpling her old ones and shoving it into a plastic bag. She shoved a pair of glasses onto her face, tied up her hair and slid into the darkened pathway towards the front of the Louvre palace.

Kei hummed, grunting as he jumped over something. Pulling a phone out of her back pocket, Izumi held it up to where her earpiece was. "Did they notice you?"

"No," the girl sighed in relief. "I only went back inside because I realised that I missed something. I'll tell you guys about it later."

As she neared the entrance, Izumi spotted a group of Japanese men huddled together in front of the pyramid. Most people would mistake them for tourists, but she knew better.

"Aw, I miss you too, Kei!" she exclaimed loudly, eyes trailing over them. Sure that she'd had a good look at their faces, she pretended to gasp at the Louvre pyramid, aware that some of them had turned to look at her. "The pyramid is gorgeous, honey! I wish you were here with me!"

Kei made a retching sound, and Izumi could hear Saki laughing. Smirking slightly, she turned and made her way back into the Parisian nightlife, mingling with the other tourists and locals who were lucky enough to be out on this fine night.

* * *

"I can't believe you called me _honey_," Kei fell into step beside her, quickly dodging when her fist shot out to clobber him on the shoulder. Izumi shot him an irritated look.

"I can't believe you made me hang twenty feet off the ground for almost an _hour_," she snapped, nodding at a junior agent who hastily bowed and scurried away the moment Izumi and Kei passed by.

"I knew you could handle it," said Kei, a smug smile forming on his face when the girl just grunted in agreement, bowing at a senior agent who walked by. Izumi straightened, a sigh escaping her lips as she glanced down the hallway. They'd only been back from Paris for less than an hour, but she already felt so much better.

Headquarters was busy – it always was, anyway. Fellow Echelon agents bustled about, each on the way to their own assignment. Izumi and Kei weaved their way through them, following the path they'd always taken for nearly their whole entire life.

"Is the Deputy already waiting for us?" Izumi asked as they reached the main elevator. Kei nodded, letting her go in first.

"Yeah, Saki said she'd meet us there." Her partner scanned his thumbprint on the scanner beside the door then jabbed the button with the Deputy's insignia. Slowly, the lift started to sink towards her office. No one – save for the Director and the Deputy – knew just how far down headquarters actually went. The lowest level belonged to Director Yagami, and both were rarely called down to her office. Even in her 10 years of fieldwork, Izumi had only seen the Director twice.

"Do you have the documents?" Izumi glanced at Kei, who was trying his best to tuck his unruly curls behind his ear. "You do know cutting your hair will make your life simpler, right?"

Kei rolled his eyes at her. "Not being friends with you would make my life simpler, really." At Izumi's glare, he grinned sheepishly and held up his arms in surrender.

"Yeah, yeah, don't get your princess panties in a bunch. I sent them to Saki right after I left the building."

"Do you have to be so disgusting?" Izumi retorted. "And good – she's way more reliable than you, anyway." Kei gasped, pretending to be offended.

The elevator came to a standstill, signalling their arrival at the Deputy's office. The two stepped out and began to roll the right sleeve of their uniform up. As they walked, lights flickered to life underneath their feet. Eventually, they came to a steel door with a similar scanner beside it.

Izumi held her right wrist out, palm towards the black scanner. It lit up, and so did the tattoo inked onto her skin: a crimson disc slowly bled into existence, standing out against her fair skin. She stepped back, allowing Kei to do the same.

"Please state your names." A robotic voice emanating from the scanner echoed throughout the hallway.

"Miyamoto Izumi and Tanaka Kei," both stood still, allowing the camera above the door to scan their eyes. Moments later, it opened and they stepped into a well-lit room, bigger than the floor they were initially on. Floor to ceiling bookshelves lined the right side, while a door separated them from another room on the left.

"Took you two long enough," a familiar voice spoke behind them. Izumi didn't need to turn to know who it was.

"It was this idiot's fault," she began to walk towards the second door, ignoring Kei's protests and Saki's snickering. She stopped in front of it and knocked.

The two behind her immediately quietened and snapped to attention. Despite the silence, Izumi let her body settle into the stance. The moment it opened she raised her right palm to her forehead, the tip of her fingers just below her hairline.

"Good evening, Deputy Uchiyama. We are here to report on the progress of our assignment."

"Come in." The voice came from farther within, behind a wide glass table in the centre of the room. The three obeyed, the door behind them shutting on its own. As they approached, the woman seated glanced up, waving her hand over the surface of the table. The files hovering above disappeared.

Izumi and the others bowed, "Deputy."

The Deputy nodded, standing up. Even at her full height, she only stood a mere foot taller than Saki, the youngest of the three of them. Her long blonde hair was tied up into a bun, the colour a startling contrast with the organisation's black uniform.

Deputy Uchiyama was well known throughout Echelon, not just because she was the youngest woman to have ever been made as Deputy, but also because she served as the point of contact between the agents and Director Yagami, who rarely made contact with most agents.

"Report to me, agents."

"We've managed to uncover Takano's location," Izumi spoke first. She nodded at Kei to continue.

"The information was hidden in one of the Louvre guard's computers, which we managed to infiltrate and extract earlier this evening." The Deputy nodded. Saki stepped up, the watch on her wrist lighting up and sending a hologram hovering above her palm.

"His drug cartel isn't just based in France, ma'am," Saki explained, tapping a file on the hologram. A map of Europe popped up, red dots appearing on various points. "They're everywhere in Europe – from Italy, to Germany, and even Poland."

"We have reason to believe that he wants to expand into Japan," said Izumi. She reached out and swiped to the next hologram, revealing the scan of a letter. "This letter is addressed to Sauce City's politician. We think they're working together to create a drug syndicate."

The Deputy frowned, eyes scanning the flickering words on the letter. After a moment, she spoke. "And what do you suggest we do, Agent Izumi?"

"We take him out before he reaches Japan," Izumi raised her chin, meeting the Deputy's gaze with confidence. "By severing their head, we can start disassembling the cartel's power and erase all former traces of them."

Deputy Uchiyama nodded. "Well said. That's what we've already planned from the start. We will need the next phase to be initiated." To Izumi's surprise, the Deputy raised her head and nodded at Saki and Kei. "Well done, agents. You may go. Agent Aiko will be waiting for you in the hangar. She will carry out what's needed to be done."

Izumi blinked. That wasn't what she expected. She opened her mouth to protest, but Saki and Kei were already saluting the Deputy. As they headed for the door, she turned to look at her friends. Saki caught her eye and shrugged, mouthing the word "_later_". She was about to look at Kei when the Deputy cleared her throat, grabbing her attention.

Izumi waited until she was sure that the two were back in the elevator before speaking. "What the heck, Hana? Aren't I supposed to be on this mission?"

The aforementioned woman sighed, gesturing to the settee at the side of her office. "Sit down, Izumi. And I told you not to call me that here."

Izumi did not sit down. "No one's here, it's just us. Besides, it's not as if the whole of the agency doesn't know about us. I don't know why you still bother."

Hana scowled. Gone were the lines of sophistication and grace etched into her frame – both were replaced with the weariness of an older sister dealing with her younger sibling. "I bother because we're at _work_, and at work, I'm your boss." Izumi waved her words aside, causing Hana to throw her hands up in frustration.

"I don't care about that, we all know I'm good at what I do so it's fine," stated the younger girl. There was no hint of pride in her voice, just plain truth. And Hana would concede to that statement – Izumi was one of the best assassins in the Echelon unit, despite being only 17 years old.

"So if you agree," continued Izumi, "Why would you send someone else – _with my team_ – instead of me?" She paused, "Unless you have another assignment for me?" The anticipation was clear in her voice.

Hana briskly walked to the settee, patting the space beside her. Reluctantly, the girl followed. "Yes, you smartass, we do." Izumi's eyes lit up. Hana could already see the images of assassination swirling around in the girl's mind.

"So what is it?"

"It's a guard assignment."

Izumi froze. "…What."

Hana fought to keep herself from laughing. "A guard assignment. We need you to guard someone."

"_No._"

"What do you mean, '_no_'?" She couldn't help it now – Hana started laughing. Izumi glared at her. "You do realise you can't disobey a direct order from the Director, right?"

The girl's eyes widened in surprised, and then narrowed. "This is Director Yagami's orders?"

Hana nodded. "She thought you would be perfect for the job."

"And what exactly is this job about? Who would I be guarding?"

"Well," Hana tapped the watch on her wrist. The hologram that sparked above was a picture of a boy who looked to be about her age. His face was expressionless, and his black hair resembled that of a haircut you'd get if you stuck a bowl on your head and cut around it.

"That would be Kageyama Shigeo, Japan's most powerful esper."


	2. Chapter 1

Fuck the Echelon Unit. In fact, fuck her dear older sister Hana for roping her into this.

Well, "roping" wasn't exactly the proper word, considering that it was a direct order from the director. Still, that didn't mean she had to like it. Izumi shifted in the hard chair, wincing when she realised that her bottom had fallen asleep. She glared at the desk in front of her, taking special note of the name etched into the nameplate placed proudly on the corner. _Yamamoto Haruko._ What was taking this lady so long?!

She swivelled around in the chair again, groaning as pins and needles raced up her legs. She'd been sitting here for nearly an hour; couldn't they just let her go to her classroom on her own? Izumi let her head rest against the white wall behind her, legs finally free of the numbness.

"_You're kidding me," were the first words that blared through her telecommunicator. Saki's face occupied the whole screen, and since Izumi had thrown the hologram against the wall, it looked like a larger-to-life version of her friend was talking to her. Kinda creepy, actually._

"_Wish I was," Izumi scaled down the hologram. There, now the younger girl didn't look like she belonged in Shingeki no Kyojin. _

_Saki snorted ungracefully, a strand of her red hair getting caught in her mouth. As she spluttered to spit it out, Izumi settled against her bed, cradling her bowl of miso soup in her hands like it was her saving grace. _

"_Where are you guys now?" She was desperate to take her mind off the impending mission. Hana had given her two days to get ready and start preparing for her role, but Izumi didn't want to think about it for now. At least, just for tonight._

"_Bucharest," she couldn't see Saki's face. Izumi had called right when she, Kei and Aiko had just begun to scout for Takano's location. The girl nearly spat out her miso._

"_The fuck?" According to the file they'd retrieved in Paris – Izumi shuddered at the memory – that asshole had been in Florence only hours ago. What the hell was he doing in Romania less than two hours later?_

"_Yeah, I know," Saki moved into frame. "We're thinking he managed to get word of what happened in the Louvre and immediately hopped onto a jet to skedaddle outta the country."_

"_Shit – must have been one of the men from the museum."_

_Saki shook her head. "Kei doesn't think so. He's suspecting that the guard he'd taken the location from might have noticed something and alerted Takano."_

_Izumi whistled. "Then that means you guys need to hurry the hell up." Saki grunted, the screen shaking a bit as she jumped over a gap between two rooftops._

"_Aiko-senpai's already in position. Kei and I just need to secure the perimeter."_

"_I wish I was there with you guys," said Izumi, setting her bowl aside. She didn't hate undercover work, but she wasn't a huge fan of it either. Assassination was her forte, and if she needed to go undercover to do it, then fine. But acting as a guard for someone? Izumi would have screamed "_No!_" from the top of the Echelon tower if she didn't respect the Director so much._

"_We know you do – we wish you were here, too," her friend's smile was radiant. Izumi returned it happily. She had met Suzuki Saki nearly 7 years ago, when the younger girl was first initiated into the organisation. Clumsy, shy, and quiet, Izumi didn't think they would be friends, let alone teammates. Fast-forward years later, and Izumi she couldn't imagine how life would be without Saki._

"_I gotta go now, Mimi, we'll let you know what happens when we're finished, yeah?" She couldn't completely see her friend's face because of how much her communicator was shaking, but Izumi appreciated the warmth in her voice. Bidding her good luck, she turned off the hologram and sank down into her bed, eyes fixed squarely onto the ceiling. Damn, things were getting exciting for her friends._

_She only hoped that her own mission would be exciting too._

Izumi snorted, gaze still glued to the ceiling. Poor pre-field Izumi, thinking that there just might be a chance the guard work would be mildly interesting. Nuh-uh, girl. Nuh-uh.

"—And she's just right here, Nakamura Yui! Eh, Nakamura-san?"

Izumi sighed deeply and peeled her head off the wall. In the doorway stood the _very late_ Ms Yamamoto and another girl – a student, Izumi realised. Ms Yamamoto ushered the blonde into the room, who was eyeing Izumi curiously.

"Hello, I'm Nakamura Yui. It's nice to meet you," Izumi bowed. The other girl blinked, curiosity melting away into a friendly smile.

"Hi, Mezato Ichi here. It's nice to meet you, too."

"Mezato-san here is from the same year and class as you. She'll be showing you around the school as well as bringing you straight to your class," the cheer in Ms Yamamoto's voice was so palpable that Izumi gagged inwardly. Outwardly, she fixed a bright smile onto her face and nodded.

"Wonderful!" The diminutive teacher clapped her hands together then began to shoo them out of the office. "Run along now, girls, first lesson is about to start and we don't want to be late!"

The door closed behind them. For a few seconds, Izumi and Mezato stood quietly outside, not daring to say a word. Izumi glanced at her new companion, a little startled to find out that Mezato was already studying her.

"So," she broke the silence, tilting her head towards the door. "She's fun, isn't she?"

Izumi blinked in surprise, then let one corner of her mouth tilt upwards. "A real party girl, alright."

Mezato chuckled, then glanced at the clock above the door. _7.38am._

"So," she turned back to Izumi, "we've got about 20 minutes before class starts. Why don't I give you a short tour of the school first?"

Izumi shrugged. "Sure, why not."

The blonde started walking down the hallway, motioning for Izumi to follow her. "So what brings you to Salt High School in the middle of a semester?"

"My dad got a new job here," Izumi answered smoothly, shrugging. "It was easier for him if our family moved too, so we did."

"Where were you from?"

"Sweets City," Izumi laughed at Mezato's awed look. "I promise living there isn't as pleasant as it sounds."

"It isn't?"

"Nah, just a normal city. Seasoning City isn't that much different, I swear."

Mezato chuckled, a small smile hanging off her lips. "I wouldn't say that. Living here isn't as boring as it sounds." Izumi raised any eyebrow at that. She opened her mouth to ask what Mezato meant when the other girl suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"So that hallway down there leads to the sports facilities," she nodded at their right. "Over on the left leads to the canteen. Come on, I'll show you how to get to most of the classrooms."

They spent a good ten minutes just wandering around the school and chatting. Thankfully, Mezato was a really affable person. Izumi didn't have to think too much about what to say to her either since the other girl filled up the silence most of the time with school gossip.

It was when Izumi happened to glance at the clock above the canteen wall that she realised that class was about to begin. She glanced at Mezato, who was staring at a couple two seats away from them and saying something about _"unrealistic expectations of love at a young age."_

"Uh, Mezato-san," Izumi interrupted. The girl waved away the formality. "Mezato is fine. What's up?" Izumi jerked her chin up at the clock.

Mezato cursed, then grabbed her arm and began to walk briskly back to the staircase they'd come from. "Ikeda-sensei is gonna kill me if I'm late again!"

Two minutes later they were panting in front of a classroom door. _Year 2 Class 2_, the sign beside it said.

"We're here, Nakamura-san," Mezato gestured to the door behind.

"Nakamura is fine, Mezato," Izumi smiled at her new classmate. "I'm not one for formality, either." That earned her a grin.

"We should go in now, Ikeda-sensei must be waiting for you," she turned around and knocked, then opened the door. Izumi took a steadying breath. Despite the fact that she'd gone undercover quite a number of times, she'd never really gotten used to the people aspect of her assignments. Namely, the "having-to-interact-with-other-students-her-age" aspect.

As soon as she stepped inside, the classroom quietened. Mezato was already back in her seat. Izumi glanced at the teacher – a woman who looked like she was in her thirties – and gave her a bow.

"Ah, you must be the new transfer student. I'm Ikeda Nana, it's a pleasure for me to teach you," the smile that Ikeda-sensei gave her was warm. She then turned to the class, all of whom were watching the exchange with curious eyes. "Now then, it seems that we have a new student joining our class today! Please introduce yourself, dear."

Izumi turned, meeting the stares of thirty other students. Her eyes quickly rove over them, searching for the reason as to why she ended up in Salt High School. Eventually her gaze landed on a boy seated two rows away with the same expressionless face and dark hair she'd seen in the hologram just days before.

_Found you._

Izumi bowed. "Hello, my name is Nakamura Yui." As she straightened, her eyes met his. She let the sides of her mouth quirk up.

"It's _such_ a pleasure to meet you!"


	3. Chapter 2

_I take it back._ Izumi gritted her teeth, resisting the urge to glare daggers at the back of Kageyama Shigeo's head. _I take it back, it is _not_ a pleasure meeting you._

She was dying. Not literally, of course. Izumi wanted to sob at the stupid numbers on the blackboard; wanted to leap up and snatch the chalk out of the sensei's hands and declare how stupid of a subject this was. But she couldn't do that, not without getting detention and potentially blowing her cover.

This was ridiculous. She was an assassin and spy for the Japanese government. She was trained in hybrid martial arts and could wield a katana and kitchen knife with the same efficiency. She knew how to speak 8 different languages – and yet, she couldn't even figure out the damn answer to an algebra question.

_When this is all said and done_, Izumi stabbed the end of her pencil into the desk, startling her seatmate. The poor guy edged slowly away from her, chair squeaking as he shuffled to the right. _I'm going to burn every math textbook in this school._

"Kageyama!" Ikeda-sensei's voice cut through her thoughts. The bane of her existence, who was just two seats in front, let out a pitiful squeak of surprise. Izumi raised an eyebrow and watched with a kind of sordid satisfaction as he stammered out, "I – I don't know the answer, sensei!"

Their classmates snickered. Izumi couldn't see his face, but she could tell he was embarrassed. Slowly, he sat down, head bowed and shoulders hunched.

_So he's supposed to be Japan's most powerful esper_. The girl leaned back, observing the boy. He looked like an average Japanese high schooler. Save for the, er, less than expressive face he had. Other than that, she couldn't really discern much from his countenance.

_But then again_, _I shouldn't underestimate him. Shukusei wants him for a reason._ Shukusei, the same group that set off a bomb in central Nagoya two months ago. Shukusei, the organisation currently being hunted down by the government for their terrorist crimes. Shukusei, Echelon's current enemy.

_"We need to make sure that they don't get their hands on him,"_ Hana's words echoed in Izumi's mind. _"Otherwise, everything that we've worked towards will be for nothing."_

Turning her attention back to the board, Izumi wrenched the pencil from her desk and proceeded to write whatever the teacher was saying. Whatever she felt about this whole situation, she had no choice but to ensure Kageyama's safety – even if it meant dealing with mathematics.

* * *

"So how's the first day of school so far?" Izumi glanced up from her bag in surprise. Mezato stood in front of her desk, a bento in her hand. A few other girls were standing a few tables away, looking at them.

"It's barely been half a day," said Izumi. "But I guess it's alright." She nodded her head at the girls behind. "Um, I think they're waiting for you."

"They're waiting for us both," Mezato said. She smiled at Izumi, tilting her head in question. "Wanna eat with us?"

Eh, what the heck. "Sure, why not," Izumi returned her smile and stood, pulling her own bento out of her bag. In truth, she'd wanted to find a secluded corner of the school and call Saki and Kei, but it wouldn't hurt getting to know a couple of her classmates. It would make her integration into the school easier anyway. Guess her friends could wait till the end of the day.

Besides, Kageyama was eating in their classroom too, surrounded by his own little group of friends. As she followed Mezato to the little circle of tables where the other girls were seated, Izumi had an idea. She shifted her communicator – now in the form of a normal mobile phone thanks to Echelon's weapons unit – out of her pocket and into her palm. As she crossed in front of Kageyama's group, her grip on the device slackened and it crashed onto the floor, sliding under one of the desks they were seated at.

"Oh!" Izumi gasped. She made to stoop and grab it, but one of the boys seated beside Kageyama had already picked it up and was now holding it out towards her with a friendly smile.

"Thank you so much," Izumi bowed. "I'm so sorry for that!" She took the phone back from his hand, gingerly turning it this way and that to make sure it was okay.

"Oh, don't worry about it!" The said boy scratched the back of his neck, cheeks colouring. He definitely wasn't from their class – Izumi would have remembered a student with eyebrows that looked like a shiba inu's.

"You moved faster than normal, Inukawa," said the dark-haired girl beside him, who was chewing on a piece of tamago. She gave him a smirk. "Is it because she's a pretty girl?"

"D – don't say nonsense, President!" sputtered Dog Boy – Inukawa – but his cheeks coloured even further and he refused to meet Izumi's eye. Kurata howled with laughter, smacking his back so hard that he began to cough.

"Uh, please be gentle to Inukawa, Tome-san," said Kageyama, who was watching the whole exchange with a small smile on his face. He turned to her and bowed.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you. My name is Kageyama Shigeo," Izumi resisted the urge to snap _I know, you idiot, you're the reason why I'm suffering in maths class _and instead bowed in return and introduced herself. Kageyama then turned and smiled at the person beside her. "Hello, Mezato-san."

"Yo, Mob-kun," the girl beside replied, grinning easily at him. _Mob?_ Izumi startled when Mezato threw an arm over her shoulder. "So Nakamura, are you perhaps single? Inukawa over there seems to be _very_ interested."

_Are you fucking kidding me?_ Izumi giggled nervously, embarrassment colouring her face. At least she didn't have to fake that. Across from her, Inukawa turned a darker shade of red. "Um, I'm not really looking for any relationship now, so…"

The dark haired girl – Tome-san – snorted. "I wouldn't blame you if you said you aren't interested, you're too good for Inukawa." The aforementioned boy let out an indignant yelp, much to her delight. She ignored him, choosing to take another bite of tamago.

They bid farewell to them, Mezato dragging Izumi along back to the table. The moment they took a seat, the rest of the girls began to tease her about what happened. She waved away their teasing with light laughter. "Aw, it was just a little joke! I'm sure he's not really interested." Inside her head, however, a little Izumi was stabbing a little Tome-san repeatedly.

After lunch, the rest of the day passed by rather uneventfully. Mezato and the other girls she'd eaten with offered to walk home with her, but Izumi declined, saying that her mother would pick her up at the front gate soon, and so they left first.

As Izumi waved farewell to them, she watched Kageyama out of the corner of her eye. Her first course of action was to understand his daily schedule – what he did, who he hung out with, where he spent most of his time at. The moment he stood up and crossed the threshold she was up on her feet, nimbly manoeuvring around the rest of her classmates.

She kept a safe distance as she tailed him, feigning disinterest by fiddling with her phone. The moment the hallway cleared she pulled out the grey contact lenses she wore, hissing with relief once they were off.

_Okay, he's heading for the entrance. About five minutes before he reaches it. _Izumi ducked into an empty classroom, snatching the hairband out of her bag and shoving it onto her head. She pressed the third petal of the little flower decoration on the side of the band, pulling her communicator out to check that the deed was done. For good measure, she pressed a button on the side, making sure that the phone flashed into a new colour, too.

Gone were the grey from the contacts she'd shoved into her eyes this morning and the brown she'd bleached her hair to – Izumi exited the classroom with a shock of long blonde hair; bangs held back by the sweet little hairband on the crown of her head, her dark eyes zeroed in on where her ward had been moments before.

Quickening her pace, she slinked down the stairs, glimpsing Kageyama's silhouette in the window. He was talking to someone – Inukawa and another guy with spiky black hair in a different uniform. Izumi slowed as she neared them, pretending to answer a call from someone.

"— would you, Mob? I think President wants to celebrate Saruta's birthday. We can even contact the rest of the gang!" Inukawa was saying brightly, a broad smile on his face. Damn, now he looked even more like a shiba inu.

"Mm," the other guy agreed. Izumi couldn't help but stare – those were some high cheekbones. "It would be good if we found presents before then."

"I think that's a great idea. You guys can let me know which day and I'll let Master know that I won't be coming in then," said Kageyama. Izumi wrinkled her nose. _Master? Geez, he had some weird fucking friends._

The movement caught his eye. As he turned towards her direction, Izumi laughed, all high-pitched and breathless. "Of course I'm happy to be seeing you, baby." She dropped her voice to a low rasp, making sure that it was still audible enough for the boys to hear. "And I can't wait to do whatever you want later, honey."

She heard Kageyama cough in embarrassment, turning away to give her some privacy. Izumi groaned. _Why do I always need to act like I'm in some kind of relationship every time?!_

A moment later they said their goodbyes. Izumi pretended to end her call, typing away at the screen as she followed him. They walked a couple more blocks, the girl keeping a careful eye on him. Finally she decided that it was time for her to initiate the next step in her plan. Reaching into her skirt pocket, careful to keep a solid grip on her phone, Izumi pulled out a pack of gum, unwrapping one and proceeding to chew it noisily. Izumi took a little bit of satisfaction at Kageyama's furtive look of confusion, ignoring the looks of annoyance that she was getting from the other passers-by.

"Oh, hi, Sayaka!" She trilled loudly into the phone, flipping back her long tresses. She was directly behind him now. Izumi could feel the gum in her mouth slowly starting to shrink – if she didn't hurry, the tracker would get attached to the inside of her mouth instead. The girl quickened her pace, finally overtaking Kageyama.

And then she proceeded to trip.

Izumi made sure to gasp loudly for effect. Her shoulder bumped into her unsuspecting target, who quickly grasped her elbow to steady her. Her phone dropped and skidded, screen going dark.

"Ow," she whined, carefully cradling her ankle between her palms. Above her, Kageyama was looking oh, so utterly lost, panic set into his usually calm face.

"Are – are you okay?" the boy stammered, kneeling down in front of her. Izumi resisted the urge to snap _No, I just said 'Ow' and I'm holding my ankle. What do you think, genius?_ and instead glanced up at him through her lashes, making sure to let him see that her eyes were tearing up.

"I think I hurt my ankle."

Kageyama glanced down, brows scrunching up in sympathy. His hands were still hovering about, not really knowing where to go or what to do. Izumi sighed, taking pity on the hopeless boy.

"Can you help me get to bench?" She sniffled, chin jerking behind him. Kageyama nodded, the relief on his face evident. He wrapped an arm around Izumi's waist and gently hauled her up, setting her and her bag carefully down once they reached it.

"Oh no, my phone!" She nearly jumped up to take it, but Kageyama put a hand to her shoulder and eased her back onto the bench.

"I'll get it, you shouldn't be walking." Izumi sniffled in response, letting out a distressed wail when Kageyama passed her back her very broken phone.

"I was going to meet my boyfriend for a special evening!" She garbled, the tears flowing fast now. "How am I supposed to make him happy now!"

Through the haze of tears she could see Kageyama flush a bright red – much to her glee – and then he was fishing for something in his pocket.

"Here," he held his phone out shyly. "You can use it to, uh, call him."

She clasped his hand, bottom lip wobbling. "Thank you so much!" _Heh, sucker._

Izumi coughed, the now very small gum flying into her palm. She stuck it on the bottom of his phone, angling it away so that he couldn't notice the leftover pink that was slowly dissolving into thin air. _Come on!_

She slowly dialled Saki's number, pressing the phone to her ears. Thankfully the girl wasn't there to receive the call otherwise Izumi wouldn't hear the last of the disgusting "conversation" that followed.

She ended the call once she was sure that the last of the gum had oxidized – sure enough, there was no more pink. She passed the phone back to a blushing Kageyama, who quickly slipped it back inside his pocket.

"You can go now," said Izumi haughtily, waving him away. Kageyama frowned, opening his mouth – probably to say no – but she shot him an annoyed look.

"I want to be alone, so can you please go? It's bad enough that I tripped because of you." That was hella harsh, but she needed him gone. Kageyama immediately shut his mouth in surprise, stammering out a reply. "I – I can't leave you alone when you're injured!"

Izumi sighed. It was sweet of him, but right now his chivalry was a hindrance to her plan. She glared, resorting to other means to get rid of him.

"Dude, I'll be fine. I may not look like much, but I can take care of myself. My boyfriend is on his way, so you better move or he's gonna beat your ass for tripping me up."

Kageyama blinked, stunned. He nodded, although unsure, and then beat a hasty retreat. As she watched him go, she noticed him saying something to the seemingly empty air beside him. Izumi frowned.

She waited for a solid fifteen minutes the moment he turned onto another street before she hopped back up, stretching. "Gah, I think my butt fell asleep," she grumbled, reaching back for her "broken" phone.

Izumi keyed in a sequence of numbers and immediately the communicator screen lit up again. She shot Saki a text telling her to block the number that called her and to quickly change her own – _Sorry, Saki_ – before pulling up the tracking device. _There._ A satisfied smile spread across the girl's face as she wandered into the alley behind, ripping off the hairband from her hair and destroying the illusion.

A little red dot thrummed like a heartbeat on her screen, indicating Kageyama's whereabouts. _Good._ Izumi pocketed her communicator as she slipped out onto the other side of the block.

_Now you won't be able to hide from me._


End file.
